Rubio Pledges To Stick to Trump’s Gaza Plan, Says It Is ‘Not Optional’ To Have Hostages Left in Gaza

Secretary Rubio is promising to stick by President Trump’s plans for taking control of the Gaza strip and working to resettle Palestinian Arabs who want to leave the area following a meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu. He also said that Hamas will in no way be allowed to retain any semblance of political control over the territory, and that it is “not optional” that any of the hostages be left behind. Mr. Rubio kicked off a Middle East tour following his first foreign trip to Central America last month, where he met with several heads of state to discuss immigration, deportations, and trade. The secretary attended the Munich Security Conference last week before making his way to Israel. “The President has … been very bold about his view of what the future for Gaza should be: not the same tired ideas of the past but something that’s bold and something that frankly took courage and vision in order to outline,” Mr. Rubio said of Mr. Trump’s plan. “It may have shocked and surprised many, but what cannot continue is the same cycle where we will repeat over and over again and wind up in the exact same place.“Related to that, the President has been very clear — Hamas cannot continue as a military or government force,” the secretary of state added. “As long as it stands as a force that can govern or as a force that can administer or as a force that can threaten by use of violence, peace becomes impossible. They must be eliminated. It must be eradicated.”Hamas is still holding Israeli hostages at Gaza following the successful negotiation of a ceasefire agreement, though that pact between the Israelis and Hamas appears to be on shaky ground. The terrorist group threatened last week to hold on to some of the remaining hostages despite Mr. Trump’s demand that they all be released immediately. On Saturday, three more individuals — including one American — were released from captivity. “The hostages need to come home. They need to be released,” Mr. Rubio said at Jerusalem on Sunday. “That must happen. It’s not optional.”The secretary of state and the Israeli premier pointed their fingers squarely at Iran for not just Hamas’ holding of dozens of hostages, but broader regional instability as well. Messrs. Rubio and Netanyahu said that they will be working together to counter Iran’s influence in Gaza, Syria, and Lebanon. “We will watch very carefully as we seek to craft our own strategy with regards to how to approach the events in Syria,” Mr. Rubio said. “In the case of Lebanon, our goals are aligned and the same: a strong Lebanese state that can take on and disarm Hezbollah.“The common theme in all of these challenges is Iran. It is the single greatest source of instability in the region. Behind every terrorist group, behind every act of violence, behind every destabilizing activity, behind everything that threatens peace and stability for the millions of people who call this region home, is Iran,” Mr. Rubio said. Mr. Netanyahu praised Mr. Rubio for his leadership at their joint appearance, saying that they would continue to work together to counter Iran’s influence in the region and ensure that the government there would never gain access to nuclear weapons. “We agreed that the ayatollahs must not have nuclear weapons, and we also agreed that Iran’s aggression in the region has to be rolled back. Over the last 16 months, Israel has dealt a mighty blow to Iran’s terror axis. Under the strong leadership of President Trump and with your unflinching support, I have no doubt that we can and will finish the job,” Mr. Netanyahu said. Following his trip to Israel, Mr. Rubio will head to Saudi Arabia, where he and several other American national security officials will meet with representatives of the Russian government to begin peace talks about ending the war in Ukraine. Mr. Trump has already spoken with President Putin ahead of the meetings, and Mr. Rubio has spoken with his counterpart, Foreign Minister Lavrov. According to Politico, the Ukrainians are not planning to send representatives to the first stage of talks. On Sunday, President Zelensky promised in an interview with NBC News’ “Meet the Press” that he would not let America and Russia decide his country’s fate. “I will never accept any decisions between the United States and Russia about Ukraine. Never,” he said. Mr. Rubio’s start as secretary of state has widely been praised by allies and officials here at home, though other Trump administration officials upset some European leaders last week at Munich. Vice President Vance delivered a speech to the security conference on what he sees as the crisis of cracking down on free speech on the continent. Mr. Rubio, who plans to skip the upcoming G20 meeting, said in an interview on “Face the Nation” on Sunday that the Europeans need to worry about real problems, not about criticisms from Mr. Vance. “The point of his speech is basically that there is an erosion of free speech and intolerance of opposing views in Europe, and that’s of concern. … It’s not an erosion of military capabilities, it’s not an erosion of your economic standing — it’s an erosion of the actual values that bind us together in this trans-Atlantic union that everyone talks about,” Mr. Rubio said. “I think allies and friends and partners that have worked together now for 80 years should be able to speak frankly to one another … without being offended.”

Rubio Pledges To Stick to Trump’s Gaza Plan, Says It Is ‘Not Optional’ To Have Hostages Left in Gaza

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